Johnny Barrett

Republican

AGE
59RESIDENCE
Niwot (23 years)HOMETOWN
BoulderPROFESSION
High Tech Sales-ConsultingEDUCATION
Trade School Certificate(s), Associates of Applied Science, BS Technical Management, MBAFAMILY
Wife of 33 years and three kids – one with significant needsEXPERIENCE
Businessman and Youth Leader for over 30 yearsWEBSITEcd2johnny.orgFACEBOOKcd2johnnyTWITTER@Cd2Johnny

Why are you running for office?
I care about our children and grandchildren.

I would be the only businessman on the board.

Parents have told me that they need better results for their children.

We need to put the focus back on our children – results matter.

What three policy issues set you apart from your opponent(s)?
1. Student Achievement: The State Board of Education performance has been flat for 10 years around 3rd Grade Literacy and 5th Grade Math. Results matter. I believe it is fundamentally wrong that we have so many kids missing out on literacy and math.

2. Increasing flexibility for parents around their child’s education

3. Opening up the Colorado Innovation Act.

If elected, I would set a State Board Policy that 80% of the kids would be at grade level standards.

What are the biggest areas of agreement between you and your opponent(s)?
• Kids matter
• Local Control of Instruction

Recent state test data reinforced historical gaps in performance between white, black and Hispanic students. How can the state help schools close these gaps?
While there are certainly gaps today, the fact is that only 4 out 10 of all 3rd Graders pass 3rd Grade Literacy. While different sub-groups are interesting, too many of our children are not succeeding in the current framework. We need to get more acceptable scores for everyone.

Denver Post Voter Guide

How should Colorado schools be preparing for the future of education?
Children are not one-size-fits-all learners, they can learn in a variety of ways. Colorado schools must support these varied learning methods and styles. This is why opening up the Colorado Innovation Act is important and would give parents greater choice in education.

What’s your position on Amendment 73, which would create a new tax on individuals making more than $150,000 a year to increase school funding?
Funding measures should not be a part of the State’s Constitution. It also pulls monies away from other districts such as water and fire. Amendment 73 only calls for a review after $8B and five years have passed to say “how the money was spent”. Unfortunately, the $1.6B inside Amendment 73 is not tied to any student outcomes – again results matter.

Angelika Schroeder

Democrat

AGE
Over 60RESIDENCE
Boulder (51 years)HOMETOWN
BoulderPROFESSION
Retired Tax CPA and professor of AccountingEDUCATION
BA Mathematics, MBA, PhD AccountingFAMILY
Husband, Wayne Schroeder, married 50 years, two married daughters, three grandchildrenEXPERIENCE
I have been engaged in education volunteer work since my children began school in the mid 80’s, first at their schools, then at the district level and then the State Board of Education. I chaired the district Accountability Committee as well as other committees. I served 8 years on the Boulder Valley School District Board of Education, as well as on the boards of various statewide education organizations. I have served on the State Board of Education since January, 2009, and was unanimously elected chair January 2017. I currently serve on the Governor’s Education Leadership Council and on the board of the National Association of State Boards of Education.WEBSITEschroederforstateboard.comFACEBOOKSchroederforStateBoardTWITTER
n/a

Why are you running for office?
I am running for reelection to the State Board of Education because as a member of the State Board, I have a role in ensuring that students in all corners of the state get the highest quality of education. My North Star remains what is good for kids. All children deserve access to equitable and adequate opportunities to learn and reach their full potential. They need to be and feel safe in school, have access to community supports for their health and well-being, and be respected. I support an active state role in making sure every school district in Colorado provides these community supports to students and families

The role of local school districts and local school boards is to deliver what kids need. I respect Colorado’s local control environment and will continue to support districts in making decisions to address their community needs. I will continue to protect local decision making, opportunities for local input, innovation and defend against a one size fits all education system. I enjoy working with my school districts, serving as a partner, not a hindrance to their ability to do their jobs.

What three policy issues set you apart from your opponent(s)?
My opponent writes on his website that we must “harden” our schools to ensure safety. I disagree with his support for arming teachers. I have heard from teachers, students, and community members that they do not believe this is the solution to school shootings and in fact increases the danger to our students. I will continue to stand against these policies. I have worked to ensure that “pro-gun” talking points do not become part of our state standards for 4th graders. I will work with the legislature to help districts be able to hire more safety resource officers, instead, and increase school counselors.

I disagree also with my opponent on how we support school choice. While I believe that all children should have the chance to attend a school that meets their needs, I also believe that schools funded by public tax dollars should meet the same educational standards and protect students’ civil rights. My opponent supports vouchers and their close cousin — education savings accounts. These programs take public dollars out of our public schools and put them into private schools where students surrender their rights to federal protections, such as those with special education needs who may have to waive their IDEA rights. There is no evidence that these programs improve outcomes for children. In fact, they may harm their chances for academic success.

Finally, our experiences in both the public and private sectors diverge. I have been an educator, a parent, a school board member, and an accountant at large and small businesses before being appointed to and elected to my seat. I bring a parental, education and business perspective to the board that places me well to work with my Democratic colleagues and colleagues across the aisle on the important issues that affect our kids.

What are the biggest areas of agreement between you and your opponent(s)?
We both believe in the importance of critical thinking in our schools. To that end, I led the board in approving the 2018 revision of the Colorado academic standards to include an emphasis on developing critical thinking skills and less on rote memorization. This was particularly true in the science standards. They were completely overhauled to align better with current best practices in science education and better align with math and literacy standards.

We also believe it is important that schools move beyond one size fits all approaches and implement innovative practices that other schools and districts can learn from. As a board member, and now as board chair, I have supported innovation schools and districts while also making sure that we have the ability to monitor these efforts to ensure they are improving outcomes for kids. I have also supported CDE staff’s work to support district and school innovation and to make sure that models and ideas that make a difference spread to other areas of the state where they can improve education practice.

Finally, I believe we both agree that it is important that students graduate ready for whatever comes after their K-12 experience. I worked with my colleagues across the aisle to approve guidelines for graduation standards that will help ensure that a high school degree is more than a piece of paper showing a student took the required number of classes. It must also mean that a student is ready for college or to enter the workforce. Today students have a menu of options to meet graduation requirements, including, for example, an industry certificate. We worked hard to make sure that these guidelines respected the differences between course availability in districts while still maintaining rigorous expectations.

Recent state test data reinforced historical gaps in performance between white, black and Hispanic students. How can the state help schools close these gaps?
The gaps in achievement between white students and students of color, as well as the gap between economically well off and poor students, is the most pressing issue we have to solve in Colorado and the nation. I believe the state can work to close these gaps in several ways. First, we can ensure that the data is available and separately reported by race, language acquisition, special needs, and economic indicators, so that we can to see where schools and districts are doing well, and where they need more support. Second, the Department of Education should act as a central hub – gathering data on educational practices and innovation from districts that are educating all kids well and supporting districts that aren’t closing the achievement gap. Finally, the state should hold districts accountable for these results and not turn a blind eye, or say that we’re good enough when some students are doing well when others are not.

How should Colorado schools be preparing for the future of education?
The most important thing Colorado can do to prepare for the future is to close the achievement gap. We have to make sure all students, not just the most privileged, are getting the education they deserve. Our work has laid the foundation in preparing schools for this future. Our focus on updating standards, ensuring graduation means something, supporting innovative education practices, and establishing policy precedent will help schools better prepare students for a changing economic and social landscape. While our world is changing, the American education system has not had a fundamental shift in decades, but we are starting to make changes to schools that better reflects our modern society. There is still work to do and we should be thinking more about how to individualize learning plans for students, reconsider the academic calendar and class schedules, and contemplating how technology can be utilized education, while also considering how we can get ahead on some of the issues it may create. I believe most of these changes will come from, and be proven successful, at the local level before they can be implemented by policy at the state level.

What’s your position on Amendment 73, which would create a new tax on individuals making more than $150,000 a year to increase school funding?
I personally am supportive of Amendment 73 and hope that the voters support the measure. I do believe that we should be doing better by our students in terms of how much the state funds education. While I am not certain the policies laid out by the amendment are the only solutions to improving the state of Colorado’s education funding, particularly for school districts with low property values that will still have financial need, I do believe it is the most viable option that has been presented in recent years.

More in Voter Guide 2018

New reports and studies continue to emerge on Proposition 112, the oil and gas setbacks measure, just days before election day on Tuesday. The high-stakes ballot issue has attracted millions of dollars on the campaign finance side as stakeholders on both sides of the issue try to convince voters of their arguments.